Lookers increases dealerships

• Lookers dealership buys Mercedes franchise
• Also acquires Chrysler-Jeep, Lexus and Land Rover sites
• Fears about higher car prices as dealers consolidate

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The franchise dealer group Lookers has acquired 10 Mercedes showrooms - and has also agreed to buy a further two Chrysler-Jeep dealers, two Lexus dealers and two Land Rover dealers.

The acquisition gives Lookers over 100 showrooms and is following a trend in the car retail market. In March, the Pendragon group bought over the Reg Vardy dealer chain, a move which made Pendragon the largest dealer chain in the country.

The merging of dealer chains has led to concern about new car prices. Prices could rise due to a lack of competition from multiple companies.

Professor Garel Rhys, director of the Centre for Automotive Industry Research at Cardiff Business School, told whatcar.com: 'In the future, car sales could be controlled by a handful of big companies, rather than the current proliferation of small organisations.

'In the short term, consumers may get a better deal, as companies fight for market share, but in the long term the biggest players could control prices and charge buyers more.'